Through the looking glass
by NuttersAscend
Summary: Sawada Tsunayoshi was a kid who couldn't fit in the well-ordered system that society built in reality, so he decided to escape into an eccentric world that gave him a place to belong and was even willing to pay the entry fee, regardless of the price the mirror demanded.
1. The beloved guest

**Chapter 1**

 **The beloved guest**

Tired, baggy eyes stared dully at the ratty reflection on the mirror on the other side of the room. A brunette lay tired and battered from the everyday struggles that came along with being a human. Amber eyes blinked lazily and blurred out the edges of his vision as if to force the boy into resignation, to take a well-deserved nap. Slowly, it darkened the world the bruised boy saw, so as to say "Show's over folks!" and drew the curtains to end the play. The boy complied and drifted into a slow lull, his thoughts shifting from the ceaseless chatter of gossiping ladies to that of the gentle buzzing of bees, and finally shifted to a silence that would only be broken by a pin.

When the brunette woke up, he saw a silver bunny looking at him with unimpressed eyes. In fact, it couldn't even be called a rabbit- it was a stuffed doll with half-hearted patches that blocked any holes. It looked like the doll's equivalent of a sinking ship. Looking at the boy's judgy eyes, it grew indignant and tapped its fluffy, overly large feet that were too big for its body. The loud taps and the crossed arms made the boy snap straight up. He then moved his eyes to the world around it. The skies looked like they were a painted piece and the clouds were pinned up to the sky with literal safety pins. The sky seemed to be caving in due to the weight of the clouds and the pins.

There was grass under his feet, but when he added weight to the ground, he couldn't feel the underlying earth- but he could feel more grass. It made him feel like he could sink into non-existence, and it scared him a little. When he looked around, there were trees that he swore looked like they were staring at him through the tree hollow. But since they couldn't close their eyes, their intense stares had made their eyes hurt, and they wept dew drops of tears. Before he could observe more, the rabbit demanded his attention.

"Speak up, boy! Time's a wasting and you're going to ruin the tour."

"...What do you want me to say?"

"I know you've got plenty to say!

The suit on me is chic and the pocket watch shines like gold. Where does he get that style? Where does he get those looks from?

Look at the rabbit's fabulous fur and the sleek shine! Even the moon's got nothing on him. I'll have you know I've ditched that lass after a good pounding. It's her that keeps those memories like her very own shadows. But I ain't ever going to look back. The moment's passed.

And before you make a request, too bad, lad! You ain't going one foot next to it, let alone have a chance to feel it. You're not going to be my sugar daddy."

The boy looked shocked at the delusions that the rabbit could come up with. It was nowhere close to what he had in mind. The rabbit had almost gotten into a hysteria, hiding his fur from his sights like as if he was going to act like a damn pervert, by sniffing it and molesting it or something. Even if it seemed like the rabbit expected him to pet it, or do _some kind of play beyond that,_ he shuddered, he dare not do that. Other than the fact that it quite frankly intimidated him with that opening, it had worked itself up so much that stuffing was slightly spilling out of its patches.

"U-um... Your patches-"

He flinched and shut his mouth promptly when given a death glare for his warnings. Its glower darkened with every stare that lingered in its flaws and so the brunette changed topics.

"Nevermind all that. Where am I? How did I get here?-"

"Tut, tut. How self-centered. Straight to yourself huh?

You've got to be a bit more considerate, Alice. You won't make any friends if you can't put someone else in your eyes."

"Don't call me that. My name's-"

"You sure you want to divulge that? Even though, I've been so kind as to give you an alias?

No-one knows you here. No-one has to know about you here. Thus, you can be yourself here."

He shakily stood up and a breeze fluttered into his legs. He was wearing a sky blue pin frock with a white apron and a black hairband on his hair. He even had striped stockings and black ballet shoes. It left him momentarily speechless and then he blew his top, shrieking in embarrassment.

"Why would you give me these clothes out of everything to wear?! I'm a guy!"

"Your visit was unexpected. You weren't even invited, yet you decided to barge in anyway. We had to settle with this, to set up your dream world."

"You decided that My idea of a dream world would be a knock-off of Alice in Wonderland?! You aren't even a real rabbit."

It seemed to have touched a nerve since the other glared at him before it huffed at him and complained.

"We chose that as the theme since it's closest to what this mirror side represents, conceptually. I'm _not a real rabbit,_ because we decided to stick close to your actual world so that you have something to relate to. When was the last time you actually saw a real rabbit, let alone a rabbit that walks on two legs and talks in your tongue? Hmm? Never?

I thought so."

"If you're not a real rabbit, what are you? I can't refer you by any other name in my headcanon."

"True, if we meet again later, I can be in different forms. If you must address me, call me Gokudera Hayato."

"Well... umm, Gokudera-kun, if we're in my dream, could you give me something else to wear. This dress is kind of disturbing me actually."

"Oh... right, you don't fancy wearing things that revealing, do you?"

The brunette felt like if the other had opposable thumbs, it would have snapped it to create a trick. But he just blinked and after the instant where the world turned dark, his clothes had changed.

It was now a frilly pale blue jacket on a white dress shirt. He had long, narrow slacks that reached his toecap shoes that he had worn over long checkered stockings. He had full glows that showed none of his skin and had a shawl that wrapped loosely around his neck, so as to not suffocate him. It was, surprisingly not stuffy.

"I feel like I'm too dressed up for this."

"This world has no dress code that you need to adhere to, so you don't have to dress up for anyone. If you're comfortable, things should be fine."

After that, it looked at him imploringly, awaiting further requests and the boy felt like for an uninvited guest, the other was being very hospitable to him. Gokudera-kun just stared silently at him, waiting for the former to make a move. So he decided to walk around a bit to get a feel of his surroundings. He heard squeaky footsteps that followed him wherever he went. It was as if he had gotten himself a butler.

He moved to the trees and saw that the leaves looked like his teacher- Nezu's wig. It didn't really fit onto the branches and just loosely hovered over the tree. it's hollow had been shifting upwards as he moved closer to it, to keep him in it's view and the brunette had the morbid curiosity to wonder what would happen if he stuck his hand into it.

"Alice. You don't have to wonder at all here. There are no consequences for any type of curiosity. No one would say that you're wrong in satiating your curiosity."

"But still... "

"It's just a dream. Who's going to find out what you've done here?"

Seeing the boy scrunched his face as he imagined that the tree would cry out in pain, the rabbit offered a solution.

"Don't worry, Alice. I promise you, it won't have any protests against your actions.

As a guide, I'm here to make your visit a pleasant one."

Being egged on by those promises, the boy brushed his finger against the hollow of the tree. True to the rabbit's word, there wasn't a peep from it. More dew dripped from the trunk as he sunk his finger deeper and deeper into the hole. It was as if his hand was in jelly. Pearl-like dew spread around the hole like spider webs. They were very pretty, glittering like that. Ruby like flowers bloomed at the edges of this web, making the tree look magnificent. The brunette wanted to see more trees looking like this, so he wandered off, not bothering to look at the tree whose hollow no longer followed him.

Of course, the brunette didn't obsessively poke into the tree hollows of all the trees, but in his wandering around, he ended up deeper into the forest. The boy wandered into a meadow of golden daffodils that shone like the sun. When he stepped into the bed, his feet felt like they were soothed of all burns and his fatigue washed away. It seemed like it was radiating golden and shrouded him in its beams. But when he looked up, there was no sun so it made him distinctly feel that incongruity.

"Gokudera-kun, where's the sun?"

The rabbit huffed forward, its bushy tail bouncing irritatedly, to the meadow and it chastised it loudly

"You guys better stop slacking around! Alice's skies need the sun."

The flowers fluttered around in panic, before the whole bed got uprooted into the sky and bunched up to form a dense garland that resembled a child's drawing of a sun. The sky immediately creaked down in its weight.

"We weren't slacking off! The sky wanted a break and told us to give it five so that it could have relief from its back pain!

What did you do that for, kid?! That was extremely uncool. I bet you haven't even experienced how that would feel like, with your youthful body."

The brunette looked around confusedly, trying to find the source of the slightly gruff squeaky voice.

"Don't you act the fool! Look at me when I talk to you!"

The rabbit came forward and stepped on the lone remaining daffodil and shouted angrily.

"Doofus! With that size, you won't even enter his sight of vision! How do you expect Alice to look at you straight in the eyes?!

Have some sense, you dunce!"

Then the flower grew larger and transformed into a huge sunflower, at the same size as that of the brunette. When it turned to face him, it faced east and the garland howled in pain. When the brunette looked upwards, he stared in slight horror as petals were forcibly plucked and scattered into the sky. Drops of crimson followed the petals and changed the time to dawn.

The bunny looked at the dawning horror on the boy's face and mumbled, "Oh right, you didn't like those sounds." He then waved his paws, and a breeze carried the shrieks and shrills away with the wind. The sunflower slapped the brunette with its huge leaves lightly, to bring his attention.

"That hurt, bugs bunny! What would you do if I can't orchestrate the time anymore? My followers would be lost without me!"

'Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?!'

"Don't call me that! You changed the time to dawn! It's supposed to be morning right now!"

"How am I supposed to meet Alice's eyes then?! We can't talk man to man that way."

"How 'bout if Alice just moves to you instead?!"

"I'm not going to stand around passively and wait for the talk to happen! I'm a man of action!"

The brunette hysterically asked, "Wait, what about those daffodils that were bleeding there?! Are they all right? No, of course not. Why did that happen?!"

The rabbit looked at him, unimpressed. "Where do you think we would get that shade from, then? Do you think the sky will turn red magically?"

"Then you could take mine."

"Not happening, do you think 3-4 pint of blood is enough to dye the whole sky red?"

Seeing the alarmed expression the brunette made at that, he reassured him with "Don't worry lad. We wouldn't make a deal that's that unfavorable. His group's just lending the amount for the time periods of dawn and dusk. I would personally have tried to get a better deal-"

The sunflower spatted out indignantly, "This Sasagawa Ryohei wouldn't do something so disgraceful like take interest from something in need!"

"See, this guy is that kind of idiot." the rabbit looked so fed up with the other's shit and weirdly enough if the brunette imagined that the other took a wiz off a cig, it would fit right at home.

"Unfortunately, this body would burn up if I puffed a cig. The fabric's inflammable."

"Pfft! It serves you right! You should use this opportunity to kick that hobby."

"I think it's equally ironic that the doctor is making a crowd bleed, twice a day, even-"

"It gets back inside them either way-"

"Yeah, when the sky pukes it back at the sun. You're the catalyst for the bleeding either way-"

The sunflower's leaves gave the rabbit a bunch of slaps, to which it snorted and said "To think the boxer can't pull any punches anymore. You're not either of the professions that you take so much pride in."

"What are you saying, these are magnificent punches."

The boy sweat dropped at that and decided to make that statement true. So he moved to a nearby tree and plucked two twigs from it and curled the leaves inwards and finally pinning the curl in place with a twig. He did it with the other leaf and the sunflower looked at its new formed fists in awe.

"Woah, Alice! This is extreme!"

It then looked upwards to the sky and pumped its fist upwards. The sky immediately groaned and puked sickly, but its voice got carried away into silence and the red droplets and petals gathered into the garland making them look refreshed and shine brightly. The heavens groaned at the slight weight that got concentrated at the center. When it looked like it was going to turn right towards them, the brunette hurriedly interrupted its movements.

"It's alright Sasagawa-kun, you don't have to turn here."

"But I want to give my thanks-"

"Your sentiments are more than enough."

"Alice... You're a really nice guy!" it sounded oddly touched.

It seemed like it was going to end up turning towards him, so the boy waived it off and gave his farewells hurriedly.

They had rushed into what seemed like a rose garden. The scent was overpowering, making him feel slightly drunk on it. They were right at the entrance gate which was entangled possessively with rose vines. Thorns bared their fangs at him, threatening him to not take a step closer to the gate. The rose gate was followed by a stone pathway that gave a feeling of support. The decorated stones were like a butler, that was trying to show the pathway that he should travel by. It seemed like if he refused the guide and traveled the path less traveled by, his rudeness would not go unpunished.

The rabbit stared at him unnervingly with its beady eyes and quietly said, "Good instincts, Alice"

A shiver traveled across his spine as he paled slightly. He had to be escorted as a guest to wherever the path led him to.

"There are areas which follow the will of their master.", Gokudera warned- advising the other to try any tomfoolery.

So he walked down the colorful delicate pebbles that shone like marbles, but were surprisingly steady to a tea party table that had a kettle pouring angrily into a cup that seemed like it would never be satisfied. It huffed and puffed in anger and blew hotter and hotter tea, infuriated at the cup's audacity. It took a mile when provided an inch.

The other cups formed groups and seemed like they were gossiping and socializing against the uncouth teacup that didn't know its place. The tea cakes visibly sagged, air deflating from them, making the cake look flat and even slightly dented. It looked tired from the long wait. There were other pastries that circled and surrounded the teacup and cakes like as if they were the star of the show. It was a bit surprising since they looked far more colorful and fancy that them.

His eyes then traveled to the lone guest on the table who was waving at them cheerfully, and recognition flitted across the brunette's auburn eyes.

There was a tall teen with black hair having carrot orange, very explicit looking ears on top of his slightly messy hair. The guy wore a brown suit with an open jacket with the dress shirt's top buttons open.

"Hey there, Alice. Glad to see that you were able to make it to the tea party on time."

"...Hey, Yamamoto-kun.

What do you mean by a tea party? I don't remember getting invited to one."

"Hmm? It's right there in your hands, though."

When the brunette looked at his hands, sure enough, his fingers were gripping at a black invitation letter, rimmed with gold. It was open and the red rose seal had been broken, making his eyes peek at a golden sheet of paper that had some words written on them.

"Are you the host of the party?"

"No, no, no. I'm the master's companion. I chose to be the March Hare, to give Gokudera over there some company."

"What 'company', idiot?! Don't put us in the same boat. You're the one who decided to be the pet to the Mad Hatter."

"I don't think he'd appreciate the fact that you called me his sugar baby..."

"I claimed no such thing-"

"And it's not like you're any different. The white rabbit is like the Red queen's pet, right?"

It seemed like the rabbit disliked that sentiment and it felt like the two would get into a fight at this rate, so he intervened and said,

"I've never really been to a tea party before. What do you do in it, anyway?"

The orange rabbit's eyes twinkled as it said,

"You've just got to try the tea they have here. It's amazing." saying that, he grabbed the kettle by the handle and poured it on the next teacup. The cup which had tea poured into it until recently, drained the tea and started turning black and moldy, with moss growing on it and creating cracks. When Yamamoto noticed the state of the old teacup, he flung it aside, callously. It crashed against the stone, and the teen shoved the filled tea in the beautiful, porcelain cup that had a wonderful aroma. The cakes and pastries giggled at the unsightly appearance of the former teacup, while the kettle dutifully filled the rest of the cups with no more trouble. The patch of grass that it was cracked against was freshened up and looked brilliant green.

"You could have at least told him the blend of tea if you're offering it to him." the white rabbit chastised, distracting the other from noticing the uncomfortable look that the brunette sported.

The tea was simply delicious. His throat parched immediately and he just swallowed the rest of it, not paying attention to its taste. He was just, simply, so thirsty. But his vision shook as he remembered the parched cup and the view in front of him, where every cup, even the one in front of the teen itself was untouched.

He wondered if he was ever supposed to drink the tea since he was beginning to suspect that its contents didn't belong in his stomach. He felt like the blades of grass surrounding him looked at his greed disapprovingly.

It seemed that he was now, the substitute for the cracked porcelain that lay abandoned in the field.

The March Hare was laughing sheepishly, as he explained to the white rabbit that he had no idea what that tea was.

he croaked, "Say, Yamamoto. Do you have something other than tea that I could sip on?"

The rabbit stared owlishly at him

"Alice, why would we have anything else on a tea party?"


	2. Crashing the tea party

**Chapter 2**

 **Crashing the Tea party**

Alice looked at the cheerful teen in front of him who stared at his uncomfortable situation with a smile, and he gritted his teeth and choked out; "Why would you serve me something that you yourself won't drink? What was in that tea?"

The march hare leaned into the other to whisper a secret, "You mustn't tell anybody since it's a trade secret, but I can let you know if it's only going to be between the two of us. It's rose tea. Those wallflowers around us make a spectacle of the tea party. They only surround us and watch us from apart, envy in their fragrance. They don't dare approach, but simply stare longingly from afar. But when one of them works up their courage, it beautifies itself and becomes the belle of the dance floor.

It becomes so gorgeous and eye-catching that it becomes such a waste to stay hidden amongst the crowd. So, it becomes only fair that we pluck it from the group to showcase it.

Unable to bear the spotlight, unable to bear the separation from its roots, it rots- even when tended in the most extravagant, bourgeois vase containing holy, blessed water. But we can't just watch it die, can we? Thus, we preserve it by pressing it and extract from it- potpourri and nectar. We accept everything that it can offer until the flower turns to dust- tea dust.

The tea is now a part, an integral part of our party; In fact, you can say that it's the star of the show. Everyone wants a part of it, but only these goblets can have the privilege to court it and attain its essence."

"If it's such a big deal, why don't you take a sip?"

"Alice! Why would you even suggest that?

These teacups are most jealous beings. Why would they share the tea with someone else? If they didn't have any tea, why would they be called teacups?"

"Then what did you want me to do with the cup?!"

The white rabbit scowled at the march rabbit and gave the brunette an answer; "There's no right answer with this hypocrite, Alice. If you had valued your safety more than his approval, you should have spit back the tea into the cup once you tasted it."

"Calling me a hypocrite is cruel, Gokudera-kun."

"You won't take part in the tea party by indulging in the drink, but you have no issue in spreading the word and _guiding the lost sheep_ to the herd, Oh false shepherd.

Alice, do you know how you can satiate that thirst? By quenching it and becoming a member of the tea party."

The boy looked at the white rabbit in shock and then swiveled around to face the other teen to accuse the other in shock; "Why do you want me to be a part of something even you wouldn't be a part of?"

Gokudera answered in his stead, "This guy is a willing victim of that incessant chatter the invitees invest themselves in."

"What chatter?"

The march hare replied, "It's from the voices granted to the inventory that lie before you. They engage themselves in idle prattle that boost their ego, ideas and ideals, satisfaction. They aim to promote their own standings and status while bringing anyone that's different from themselves or superior to them or if the other opposes and rejects their views... It's apparent when you could have at least observed the way they arrange themselves.

Look at that, there are cups that are designed with red camellia that huddle close to each other, while those with china roses are clustered together on the other side. They are of a similar shade but are separated by an impassable crevice.

Look at the cups with the button roses that have many layers and have a highly complex design, but even with their depth and expertise, they have marginalized themselves from the seemingly simple ones with wild roses engraved in it. Which side's judgment would you side with?

What about the cups with blue roses as compared with those with white roses? One side is of a rich variety, so unique that they've cultivated themselves as something that nature can never touch or truly own. They have made themselves unique and unreachable whereas the white roses have integrated themselves with purity so natural that they are earth's very children- the primordial form that's untainted and argue to be more true to themselves and the most gifted beings, blessed from their birth and born with a silver spoon.

They bicker and make idle prattle amongst themselves. They discuss, gossip and argue. They preach to the choir and admonish the nonbelievers and make them blind. They engross themselves in the small bubbles that they create. The tea cakes hear their conversations like it's the holy word itself. They drink it in and repeat and spread the seeds of the rose from the tea; which is funny for a plant that can never birth its own seeds. They warp the words they hear and spin tall tales that are more glamorous and blasphemous than its original form. And yet, this is the form that is believed over its actuality. They would swear by it.

...It's honestly tiring to watch.

Yet you don't see what is right in front of you. Do you pretend to be blind, or do you honestly not see?"

He refilled the cup that the brunette held in front of him and gave him a sly smile.

"You're even deaf to their voices.

Or is it that you advocate the saying of seeing no evil, hearing no evil and speaking no evil? Do you consider what they have to say in its various forms, evil? Even if it contains some sort of truth?"

He moved into the other's personal space and made the tie with the gordian knot lying on his chest, crooked. He whispered right next to the other's ear,

"Or is it that you simply chose to be ignorant of what's actually happening in front of you;

After all, it _is bliss_."

Gokudera slapped the teen's hands off the guest. He snarled, "Watch it, Yamamoto. You know that Alice can't hear their stupidity because he's a guest. It's better this way. If I had it my way, I wouldn't want to hear them talk to their death anyway."

"Aww... Is he _still a guest?_ I thought that the tea would extend his stay a bit. If he stays for days, weeks, months or even; years, he's _no longer a guest_ is he?"

The white rabbit aimed its paws right towards the other's extending arm and shot a blade of wind, that whizzed right at hand like an arrow, cutting it and making blood leak from it. He hopped to one of the filled cups and splashed its contents right at the hare's face and collected some of the dripping blood.

"Your disgusting tea isn't the only thing that he can drink, you walking blood sack."

While Yamamoto glared at the rabbit, Alice decided to take upon the other's offer and drank the cup's contents, while ignoring his mind that was disgusted at playing as a vampire.

Right then, before the two could get into a scuffle, the bushes rustled a bit, and a shadow approached in their direction. When the silhouette was more apparent, it whipped out a magnum gun and shot successive bullets towards the table and almost cleared out the entire surface. With the speed of the shots, the brunette almost thought that the man was firing with a rifle, not a shotgun. The table instantly became the messy ruins and the aftermath of a murderfest. The tea table looked like a crime scene now.

A moody man, dressed in a black suit with a yellow ochre vest, wearing a fedora with a golden ribbon stepped forward at the now silent table. Alice looked at the man, bewildered at this turn of events.

"What does a man have to do to get some peace around here?"

"I think there's nobody to interrupt that peace now, Reborn-san. You've done a pretty banged up job silencing them with that right now." Yamamoto then turned towards the ruined party and bowed with all the grace and sincerity of a mocking jester, and then gave his regards "Rest in peace."

The man snorted at that and turned his dark, pitch black eyes to the newcomer and made a complaint- "Why did you accept that invitation? There's nothing but tea around here."

Gokudera whispered to him to make the introductions, "That's the master of the area, the Mad Hatter."

The man trudged on and sat in the chair that immediately transformed to an armchair. He narrowed his eyes and crossed his legs before resuming, "I prefer coffee. How shall you compensate me for my troubles?"

By his tone, he seemed to be demanding remunerations for his supposed grievances. It looked like he'd be making demands any second now.

"Aren't you a guest? Don't tell me you came to a party with no gifts for the host?"

When the brunette tried to refute something, he heard a muted bang and looked down; he saw Gokudera on his lap and stuffing floating in the air. The bunny's button eye shattered into shards and a bullet embedded itself in its place. If it ran its trajectory, his heart would be the one that cracked and croaked its last. He immediately turned pale white. The white rabbit turned its heterochromatic eyes towards him in reassurance.

"Silence. Else, I'll teach you the golden rule."

'Isn't it too late of a warning?!'

"You've got some nerve. You even made that flower for brains make it the best time for tea."

"B-but-"

Bang, bang. More cotton flew in front of him; this time, there were two clear holes right through the patches in the white rabbit's shirt. The patches were seared at its edges, and it made the brunette slightly infuriated.

" _Silence_ "

Then the other calmly continued.

"You even sauntered up til here, making us host the party.

Blah, blah, blah. They talked my ears off. Even in death, they wouldn't keep their silence.

They ambushed all 360 degrees of the angles with roses to make people drunk in their scent. It's a poor substitute for good alcohol- it won't keep anything at bay, and it isn't any good of a distraction. It even tried to be a replacement for a good shot of espresso.

It can't be a good vie for my attention or focus. They've been pestering me for a good while now, just because I'm the host.

You better have a good excuse for requesting an audience for this sham of a party."

"Could you just calm down and hear me out-"

"Silence."

He felt Gokudera hold him back. The rabbit looked at him imploringly; the golden eye was seared out, leaving the black hole of the bullet sear noticeable. It seemed like the hatter had aimed at the rabbit knowing that it would try to block the next shot. The man had impeccable aim. Those black eyes looked straight at his auburn ones, taunting him.

Just then, the rose vines split up, seemingly unwilling to part with something, but, split apart like the red sea and released its captive princess, albeit reluctantly. From the greenery, skeleton corpses in ball gowns and suits emerged. The rose bushes scattered petals after their trails, like a besotted lover calling after them, willing them to come back to their embrace. The skeletons moved towards their table with the utmost of respect, like they were the butlers and maids of this aristocracy.

One of the skeletons, adorned in a cherry red ballgown dress, draped itself over Reborn, while the other scowled darkly, but did nothing against its bony arms.

The others touched the ruined table and melted along with the broken cutlery and dishes and changed the tablecloth's color to color, dark yet darker than any black that he'd ever see. Some of the skeletons turned into powdered white that shimmered over the cloth making it look like the starry skies in those memorable nights that only a few bothered to gaze upon.

The skeleton that wrapped itself on the master, plucked out blood red roses from its dress and placed them on the tabletop which transformed into a simple, yet elegant golden rimmed white tea set. Others changed into white lilies that surrounded the set. They were fresh blooms that seemed to grow from the table itself. The skeleton that served them broke apart and sank into the ground.

Three cups were filled up and served at their side. This time, Yamamoto picked one up and drank from it. The mad hatter himself quietly drunk from the chalice.

Having suffered from a bad experience, Alice wasn't willing to give the cup a try.

The area's master glared darkly at him, which prompted the other to drink from his own cup reluctantly.

'I thought he was mad before, and then he became _mad_ now.' Truly, he fits his title.' he thought as he grumbled.

Unable to hold his silence and feeling begrudged at their treatment, he left his seat and tore the invitation letter into shreds right in front of the hatter's eyes.

"If you can only pay your respects to the dead, then I can very well leave you two to linger in this graveyard.

I don't wish to cling to the past and the glory of history."

He marched away from the place that let him leave, now that he was no longer a guest, having rejected the invitation.

As he wandered, his temper cooled down and his ears focused on the squeaky steps that shadowed his every footstep. There was the whistling wind that he couldn't ignore, its wolf whistles- the result of the rabbit turned into swiss cheese.

He made a pained request, "Won't you stop? Surely, you need rest?"

The fluffy feet stopped immediately, and he walked a few steps ahead, before giving in to his urges and glancing back.

In the damp forest, there lay two bunny slippers, abandoned in the silence of the woods.

He could very well leave the shoes behind and continue exploring. It could help the rabbit recover from its condition with the help of time.

But he removed his dress shoes and walked towards the slippers and silently slipped them on.

He then resumed walking through the woods, resolutely thinking that he was right to leave that way, even if his mind showed the somber look of the repenting mad hatter and the dazed, almost lifeless look of the march hare whose existence merged with the corpses that lingered in the beautiful, breathtaking rose garden.


	3. Simple complexity of making friendships

Hey there ^o^

I bet this work could be read as a person's nonsense. It may be that, or it might reach out to you.

The silent treatment had stopped, huh? Either way, you're entitled to your own opinion.

Lemme know what you think or what you wanna say. It's very welcome.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **The Simple complexities of forming friendships**

Alice left the party in a huff and walked in circles around the maze-like forest until his temper cooled down and he blushed in embarrassment at his attitude. When he looked upwards from his palms that cooled his flaming cheeks, he saw that the sunflower was strangely silent as it looked straight upwards.

"Say, Alice. You saw Yamamoto, didn't you? I told him that he didn't need to be the march hare and he didn't need to give you that invitation.

But he was so enthusiastic, he set the whole thing up. The decor, the treats, and the itinerary. By simply bringing them in, for each of those items... a voice was added in. Then a squabble broke out and then factions broke out. Then, as a host, he had to be the mediator so that what you would enter into would be a tea party, not a fish market.

The mad hatter simply left the invites out, but left the hare to his own devices. Even if he didn't take it upon himself to organize the party, the roses would have arranged everything. But... the march hare wouldn't be a host in that party. At least that way, he'd have to be the voice of reason and the intermediary to get anything done.

I agree that the party that he hosted was more tasteful than the ones the roses hosted. I mean, even you blew a fuse when they took over, didn't you?"

He pointed his fists towards the sky and the clouds over there split and made way to let the brunette see what the flower wanted to show him. A huge clocktower was there, with the time showing clearly on its face.

"That's my sister there. She chose that role since she wanted to help me out to keep time and it's super handy if I forget or get lost while keeping those guys in line. I've got my hands full keeping an eye out for her, setting these guys straight and she's made her life around my new routine.

The daffodils have also taken up the responsibility to give the rest of them a guideline to schedule their routines under, and I'll support them all the way to help them take up that mantle. I'll be the lighthouse so they can fall back to or return to."

There was a conviction in the words uttered by Sasagawa. But, by becoming the pillar, the sunflower had made its roots in one place and became unable to move, unlike the daffodils that could reach sky high and unlike the towering sister whose identity itself changed to create this bond.

Alice felt sad at that thought and sat down by the flower and dug around it. The earth didn't hold the flower as its hostage any longer. It didn't hover, but its tall frame's weight lay right onto the boy's hands. It wilted slightly and asked,

"Alice, I thought that Yamamoto was a guy like me and we clicked because of that. That guy was like a water jug and water, juice, sake, tea, coffee, poison, acid, and other drinks got poured into him. He accepted it all, even though the resultant mixture couldn't be accepted by any person's throat or stomach. If it couldn't be drunk or drained out, it could only stagnate in the vessel. They reacted with each other and settled into equilibrium, but started eroding the vessel's walls. They wanted a new one or they wanted it to evolve and strike a balance.

I saw that and I told him to let go a bit to settle down a bit. The vassal needed to reach stability, not expand its territory. But he took my words as a request, as something he needed to accept.

I'm to handle time, I've made a promise with the clocktower. I can't help him spill the contents. They would have created a resistance against my meddling.

Before becoming a flower, the inhabitants paid close attention to the showy clocktower which was attention-grabbing. They wanted to lay their hands on it, after all- it had no importance if it just measured the time that couldn't be tamed. Time was unpredictable and hence random in nature, thereby it was useless and unreliable to those guys. I had to become the sunflower to protect my sister because my measures did not solve the underlying problem.

I could tell them to ignore her, or become her shield or even her sword to protect her. But I did not want her to be isolated or berated upon and she did not want her shield to rust(crack) or her sword to become blunt(break).

My true calling was that of a sunflower. But his wasn't that of a vase, but it does not fit that of the march hare. I wonder if my protests ended up creating cracks in his persona?

When I stepped out of my role to stop him from entering into his, it made him falter, but it made his supporters and sustenance lost and jittery. Did my interference make him force himself to stuff himself into a statue, even if it meant breaking his bones and bleed a river?"

The sunflower lamented his regrets to the person who held his silence now and even _then._ The brunette's slippers, so as to help the both of them forgive themselves, summoned a gentle breeze to envelop them. He lifted the sunflower to the skies to fulfill the boy's intentions.

Alice walked onwards.

* * *

On his path, there lay a dying cat. It was moaning in pain, but it flinched away in caution when the boy approached it. It lacked the means to escape his advances, but it didn't dare hiss at him- fearing retribution. It kept its eyes open, intending on seeing the world until its very last breath.

It was too late for any help and making it panic would only send it onwards to the heavens faster.

Alice looked sad at its plight. He did not have the ability to change its fate. When he crouched in front of it and slowly moved his hand to comfort it. He carefully observed the ruffling fur and avoided regions that seemed like it would hurt on touch. There was hope in the cat's eyes as it twinkled right at him.

The trees surrounding them whispered in disgust at the unsightly state of the creature. The grass that lay below the cat slightly moved away from its body, intending on avoiding it, so Tsuna very carefully, brought the cat onto its lap. But once he did that, its weight was quite astounding. His laps felt numb immediately and he winced at its weight. But he immediately straightened his expression out, not wanting to make it feel disheartened at his response.

It had a rusted collar that read 'Nagi' and it smelled strongly like medicinal herbs.

He shifted its body to his chest to carry it more firmly, but when he did that he felt that he had gotten a case of heartburn and he let out a groan. The cat immediately sunk its claws into his arms and he simply whispered compliments over and over again.

The whispers increased in intensity and become louder than his words as they drowned his voice out. He saw Nagi's red eyes that couldn't let its tears out and it seemed like his surroundings were too focused on the cat that they wouldn't lend him an ear. Their tone held worry, but it wasn't directed at the cat. It was as if they had already ordained her dead.

He felt his feet sink into the ground. It was as if they decided to bury the dead and pay their respects. The woods looked black like they were in mourning clothes. There was a clear bell ringing as the others became preoccupied with the ceremony and procedures instead of the person they were going to lose.

Nagi's collar dropped from its neck and disintegrated into the ground, and red spider lilies bloomed in its place.

Alice looked at the sheen fur in front of him. The being in his chest looked majestic. Its heterochromatic eyes stared at him in amusement. The cat simply hopped onto a branch of the now silent trees.

"You're certainly cruel, lad. Why would you feed a stray but not adopt it?

It might as well not know kindness if it has to survive in the streets." It mocked him gleefully.

The boy hunched down to look for the collar that fell down, but the cat shot down that idea immediately.

"You don't have to bother making a grave. That cat's dead and lost to the world.

Don't you know? We don't mix the dead and the living."

"But she's still here, isn't she? You've taken her into your custody."

"My, my. You need glasses, Alice. I doubt you'd ever see a cat as handsome as I."

"Even if that was true, she at least exists in your memory- enough for you to inherit her will."

"It's nothing that profound. She's like those clothes you've draped so wholly around yourself. You've rejected the vassal that you've been born with and have chosen to cover every inch and corner with clothes to distract yourself from that thought.

You've even taken up another name to take up a new identity. If not, I doubt we'd be engaging in this delightful conversation, is it not so?" he purred comfortably as he stretched, ignoring the flinch from the boy under him.

"Why are you so insistent on validating her existence, Alice? Your ardor makes me feel jealous."

"It's because it looked like we both were the same."

"That's true. She desperately went around trying to win their favor and become an integral part of their lives- for it all to be for naught.

She ended up as a burden in the end and she couldn't diminish her presence in their lives. It's a truly ironic way of getting your wish fulfilled.

Were you feeling empathetic to her plight? Or were you trying to give her a happy ending since it seemed like you both were traversing the same path?"

The cat let out a wide cheshire smile as it left the question hanging. He vanished from the site knowing that the brunette could give him no answers or even bring himself to give one even if he did know it.


End file.
